Fishing the Flug
A small salmon plug to fish on a fly rod
by John Gray
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A bit of a daft name, I suppose.... the Flug ..... but I couldn't
think of anything more appropriate for a small plug which is designed to be
fished on a fly rod. Now you might say, "Why on earth would you want to fish a
plug on a fly rod?" and you might well have a point. The kind of plugs with
which we are familiar on salmon rivers - such as Canadian Wigglers, Rapalas and
Kynoch Killers - can be fished very effectively on a spinning rod. They are
particularly effective in the cold waters of early spring and late autumn,
perhaps harled from a boat to reach deep lying fish. These large plugs, like
other lures designed to be fished from a spinning rod, the Toby and the Flying C
for example, can also be effective at other times in the season when, in a high,
coloured river, only an optimist would fish a small fly with any real
hope of success. Nevertheless, I have a liking for the fly rod and, wherever
possible, will resist the temptation to pick up the spinning rod, however hard
the conditions. Now I realise full well that a standard salmon fly might not be
the best option in such adverse conditions. So I have experimented with various
devices which might be fished on the fly rod in conditions of high, cold water
with some hope of success, lures like
the Spinhead,
for example. The Flug is another such lure, which might provide yet another
weapon in the armoury of the dedicated fly fisherman.
The main advantage of the Flug is that it can be fished at a
depth of a few feet without the need for a fast sinking line and weighted fly.
To give an example, in the cold, high water of early Spring, we might wish to
get our fly down several feet to allow us to swing our fly enticingly in front
of the nose of a lethargic salmon. The traditional set-up for this might be a
two or even three inch heavy copper tube fished on a fast sinking line. Casting
such a combination holds little appeal for me. So I looked for an alternative
which might allow me to fish my lure at depth but without the need for a heavy
line and heavily weighted lure. I remembered, many years ago,
 using
the famous Kynoch Killer to good effect on the River Tummel to take two spring
salmon from a deep run in which the Kynoch, it seemed, was one of the few lures
which could be fished deeply enough to reach the fish. The Kynoch Killer, a
diving plug with a most lively action, was simply held in the stream at various
points by giving a yard or two of line now and again. In this way, the whole
stream could be covered from a convenient point directly upstream of the lies.
The Kynoch Killer, in the normal sizes, is best fished using a spinning rod and
reel. I thought, however, that it should be possible to make a simple diving
plug, a smaller lure than the Kynoch, from wood or some other buoyant material,
which would be light enough to cast on a fly rod. I experimented with various
materials, such as foam and plastic tubing, but found that wood, in the form of
dowelling with a diameter of one centimetre, was the most suitable material. It
had the essential buoyancy and was easily shaped using knife and sandpaper. The
shaped Flug is then easily painted and varnished to any desired colour.
In early trials, I found that the diving properties of the Flug
were greatly affected by its shape and by the position and angle of the hole
drilled through the front face of the lure. A long slim lure was found to dive
quite effectively but with little in the way of an attractive wiggle. A short
fat lure had more action but was less stable. Such a lure tended to rise more
easily to the surface, making it less
 suitable
for use in a strong current. If the hole is drilled high on the face, the lure
again tends to be less stable. If the hole is drilled too low, the lure is more
lifeless. Having experimented, then, with various shapes and sizes, I have, for
the time being at least, settled on the kind of Flugs shown in the accompanying
photographs.
I have found that Flugs of the size shown are fairly easily cast
using a double handed salmon fly rod. They can be fished on a floating or
intermediate fly line and still attain a good depth of anything up to four feet
or so, allowing the lure to be fished to deep lying salmon. Perhaps more
importantly, the Flug will dive and flutter in a most attractive manner if
simply held in even a fairly gentle current. I have had little opportunity to
test the Flug on productive salmon beats but early, and very limited, trials
have been encouraging. In approximately six hours of fishing, the Flug has taken
two salmon, a lovely eight pounder from the Border Esk (shown in the photograph
above) and a three pounder from the River Allan. I hope to give it a swim in a
few more rivers in the coming season..... rules permitting of course....
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